Dance

Ballet Blossoms in Ecuador

Trifecta Arts’ first ballet program… is a REALITY.  Beginning on September 26, 2017 and culminating with a final performance in February, 50 young girls experienced their first ever ballet training.

More than 175 girls ages 6-12 auditioned for placement in the program being offered at President Tamayo School in La Libertad, Santa Elena, Ecuador. The girls were separated into two groups, by age, and substituted a 90 minute ballet class for their regular physical education class 2 days each week. There were even some boys who wanted a chance to participate – a somewhat surprising request, which we will happily evaluate for a future session.

The program was co-taught by Anne Koho, Trifecta Arts founder, and  Maruxa Pita De Le Vega,  ballet instructor and owner of Maruxa Pita Academy of Dance and Ballet in Salinas and Ballenita, Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. A special thank you goes to Gaudy Gonzalez Pezo, a teacher at the school, who facilitated discussions with the school administrators. The classes were initially planned to be held in the recently constructed computer room – a roof over their heads and a clean tile floor would have made a wonderful venue for learning ballet – but the classes needed more room, so we moved to the outdoor stage adjacent to the playground.

This was an extraordinary and unprecedented opportunity for these young girls to have 4 months of ballet training made possible by Trifecta Arts. Students at this public school come from families that cannot afford luxuries like dance lessons or the costs of extra transportation to reach a dance school..

The proud 50 girls who were selected were beaming with joy as they led their parents into the room to meet Maruxa Pita and Anne Koho at the introductory meeting.  After hearing an overview of the program, their parents were equally excited and appreciative, making the following comments:

“We are so happy for this program to come to our school.”

“We are very interested in the benefits of ballet.”

“We will help with all things needed.”

If you would like to support future programs like this, please donate to our General Fund by selecting  *DONATE* from the menu at the top of the page.